Improved school desk and seat



N- PETERS. PHOTO-L THOGHAPHER WASHINGTON D C UNITED STATES PATENT @einer JAMES MONTEITH, OF NEW YORK, N. tY.

IMPROVED SCHOOL DESK AND SEAT.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40, |17, dated September 29, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMES MONTEITH, of the city, county, and State of New York,'have invented a new and Improved Seat and Desk for the Use of Schools and for other Purposes; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specifica-- tion, in which- Figure l is a front view of a settee with my invention applied. Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

This invention consists in so attaching4 the seat to a settee or chair thatit may be turned up back, and over the back to form a desk.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation. y

A A are two standards, like those employed to form the sides of a settee, having the back B rigidly att-ached.- C is a board, which forms either a seat, as shown in black outline in Fig. l, or a desk, as shown in red outline in the same gure, at pleasure. This board has` rmly attached to each end one of the two arms D D of the settee or chair, and these arms are attached by pivots a c to cleats b b, which are firmly attached to the front of the back-board B in such manner as to permit them to be turned upward and backward to turn the seat up and over the back, in the manner shown in rcd outline, and returned to the position shown in black outline. When in the lastn1entioned posit-ion, the board rests upon suitable bearings on the standards or side pieces, in such manner as to be firmly supported and make a rm seat, and when in the other position it rests upon the top ofthe back. Tol give the board a firm support and make it form a rm desk, I provide a rim, C, along that edge which comes at the back otl the seat, such rim being on the upper side when the board is in position to form the seat, and the said rim comes in front and at the under side whenjhe board is turned up and over to form the desk, and rests against the front ofthe back, thereby preventing the board from slipping back farther than is neccessary.

In school-rooms the alternate rows of seats only will be of this construction, so that behind each there will be an ordinary settee upon which the pupils may sit While writing or drawing upon the desk in front. When the pupils are not writing or drawing, and when the room is used for the purpose ot' assembling, the board B is placed in the position to form a seat.

The advantages of this invention over other combined seats and desks are as follows: First, dispensing with an eXtra shelf or board, second, obviating the necessity for hinges, with their noise and liability to breakage and disorder by use, and the substitution therefor of a simple pivot; third, as the upper side of the desk becomes the lower side of the seat, that side which becomes blotted and defaced by pupils, and contains the holes for inkstauds and grooves tor pens does not appear when the board C is in seat form; fourth, thc space between the settees is not obstructed by any extra shelf; fifth, adjusting the board C, as seats or shelves isdone, with greater facility.

To enable the board C to be placed flat against the back to facilitate sweeping the room, it may be supported by brackets, which are capable of being folded back, and be pivoted to the arms to enable it to fall back, and foldin g brackets maybe attached to the back to support the board C in position for the desk. By making a sliding connection between the board C and the back, when the last-mentioned brackets are used, the said board may be adjusted to form a higher or lower desk for taller or shorter pupils.

What I claim as mv invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

So attaching the board U to the settee or chair by pivots a a, or their equivalents, that it may be brought either to a position to form a seat, or turned up back and over to a position to form a desk, substantially as herein specified.

Witnesses: JAMES MONTEITH. THos. S. J. DOUGLAS, GEO. W. REED. 

